Looking for a Jewish/British name blend

General Name Discussion
1

My husband and I are looking for a name that combines both our Jewish and British backgrounds. We are struggling to find a mix that is both classic and interesting, without being too heavily weighted to one background. Names we like are:

Boys

[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Moses[/name]
[name]William[/name]
[name]Israel[/name]
[name]Charles[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Lev[/name]
[name]Edward[/name]

Girls

[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name]
[name]Scarlet[/name]
[name]Esther[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Chava[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name]

[name]Do[/name] you have any suggestions for additional names or combinations? We are not opposed to double middle names. Thank you!

2

[name]Levi[/name] [name]William[/name] would be very handsome
[name]Charles[/name] [name]Samuel[/name] A great balance of both
[name]Israel[/name] is a favourite of mine and I would love to know of a baby [name]Israel[/name]
combos
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Montgomery[/name]
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Owen[/name]

Girls

[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name] [name]Elissa[/name] (instead of [name]Elizabeth[/name])
[name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Aviva[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Faith[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Esther[/name] [name]May[/name] or [name]Mary[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name] [name]Rebekah[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name]

3

Oooh! fun names ^^ My favourites are [name]Moses[/name], [name]William[/name] and [name]Israel[/name] for boys and [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Blythe[/name], [name]Aviva[/name] and [name]Scarlet[/name] for girls…

[name]Moses[/name] [name]William[/name] (my fav in this group, for the sound)
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Edward[/name]
[name]Edward[/name] [name]Israel[/name]
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Charles[/name] (this is my second fav, I like the hard ch-sound after the soft [name]Israel[/name])
[name]Edward[/name] [name]Charles[/name]
[name]Moses[/name] [name]Arthur[/name]
[name]William[/name] [name]Lev[/name]
[name]Lev[/name] [name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name] [name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name] [name]Moses[/name]
[name]Edward[/name] [name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Lev[/name] [name]Samuel[/name]

[name]Lev[/name] [name]Arthur[/name] [name]Moses[/name]
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Charles[/name] [name]Lev[/name]
[name]Moses[/name] [name]Arthur[/name] [name]William[/name]
[name]Lev[/name] [name]Israel[/name] [name]Edward[/name] (my fav in this group, the flow is nice!)
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Charles[/name] [name]Edward[/name]
[name]William[/name] [name]Moses[/name] [name]Edward[/name]

[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Scarlet[/name]
[name]Esther[/name] [name]Aviva[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] (my fav in this group)
[name]Esther[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Chava[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]

[name]Esther[/name] [name]Aviva[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] (this was the first combo that sprung to mind when I saw your name list, and I think it’s the prettiest ^^)
[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Aurelia[/name]
[name]Scarlet[/name] [name]Aviva[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Chava[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Miriam[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]

As for additional names, I can suggest some Jewish boys, but the others are tricky:
[name]Abraham[/name] ([name]Abe[/name] and [name]Bram[/name] are excellent nicknames
[name]Adam[/name]
[name]Isaiah[/name]
[name]Isaac[/name] (I think [name]Ike[/name] needs to be more used!)
[name]Joseph[/name]
[name]Obadiah[/name] (is actually on my list, but he’s definitely not for everyone!)
[name]Zachariah[/name] (much more appealing than [name]Zachary[/name])
[name]Micah[/name]
[name]Amos[/name] (but he was a judgement prophet or something? not the best namesake some say)
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Eli[/name]
[name]Jonah[/name]
[name]Noah[/name]
[name]Abel[/name]
[name]Boaz[/name]
[name]Phineas[/name]
[name]Gideon[/name]
[name]Reuben[/name]
[name]Samson[/name]
[name]Lazarus[/name]
[name]Eleazer[/name]
[name]Judah[/name]
[name]Jericho[/name]

As for girls:
[name]Ruth[/name] (should be more used than she is!)
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Jemima[/name]
[name]Susannah[/name]
[name]Tamar[/name] (sounds best as [name]TAY[/name]-mar, and totally gorgeous!)
[name]Dinah[/name]
[name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Carmel[/name] (place name, but still!)
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Ariel[/name]
[name]Bethel[/name]
[name]Shiloh[/name]
[name]Marah[/name]

And I’m sorry for all my suggestions being directly from the bible (old testament mostly I think)… I usually have a hard time suggesting names to people within certain criteria like nationality, but I actually know a lot of the names in the Bible, so for once it was fairly easy and I just had to list a lot of them! there are some place names there as well, all in [name]Israel[/name] that I think are beautiful but perhaps not for you…
good luck with the naming!

4

[name]Arthur[/name]: I really love [name]Arthur[/name], and think it’s a great option for you…

[name]Moses[/name]: If you’re going for balance, to me, [name]Moses[/name] is heavily weighted toward Judaism.

[name]William[/name]: [name]Love[/name]…

[name]Israel[/name]: See [name]Moses[/name]. I think either name could be paired with a one of your more non-denominational names.

[name]Charles[/name]: Great…

[name]Samuel[/name]: I love [name]Samuel[/name], too!

[name]Lev[/name]: To me, this one leans towards Judaism, too.

[name]Edward[/name]: I absolutely love [name]Edward[/name]! :slight_smile: It’s one of my all-time favorites. :slight_smile:

Girls

[name]Charlotte[/name]: I love this name, and think it strikes a perfect balance…

[name]Miriam[/name]: Due to its Old Testament roots, I do associate it with Judaism, but I think it’s less overtly associated with Judaism than [name]Moses[/name] or [name]Israel[/name].

[name]Blythe[/name]: I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]! :slight_smile:

[name]Aviva[/name]: I think it’s beautiful, but it doesn’t strike a balance to me.

[name]Scarlet[/name]: I love this option, too!

[name]Esther[/name]: See [name]Miriam[/name].

[name]Elizabeth[/name]: [name]Lovely[/name]…

[name]Chava[/name]: On your girls’ list, this one feels the least balanced to me, and I think that pronunciation issues may arise with the Ch part.

[name]Aurelia[/name]: I think this is beautiful.

From your list, I really love [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] and [name]Aurelia[/name] [name]Blythe[/name], as well as [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name].

I’m Jewish, too, so to me, a name feels like a blend of being both Jewish and American (or British, in your case) as long as it’s not an overtly [name]Christian[/name] (Catholic, etc.) name, such as [name]Christine[/name], [name]Christina[/name], [name]Evangeline[/name], etc. I personally feel that because most classic/vintage names have been used throughout time by Jewish people (and people of all religions, of course), I can use them and still honor my roots.

[name]Amelia[/name]
[name]Anneliese[/name] ([name]Anne[/name] [name]Frank[/name]'s full first name)
[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]/[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]/[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name] (the [name]Dalia[/name] spelling is Hebrew)
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Eleanora[/name]
[name]Eve[/name]
[name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name] (Hebrew)
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Felicity[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] (nn [name]Eve[/name] or [name]Evie[/name], which is Hebrew)
[name]Georgiana[/name]
[name]Gabriella[/name] (Nameberry lists iit as Italian, but I know it has Hebrew roots, too, like [name]Gabriel[/name])
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Hope[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name] (I didn’t even realize this is Hebrew…)
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Marielle[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Rosalie[/name]
[name]Susannah[/name]
[name]Sally[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Tess[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Vivian[/name] (means “life,” like [name]Chaya[/name] and [name]Chava[/name])

[name]Andrew[/name]
[name]Conrad[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Elias[/name] (nn [name]Eli[/name])
[name]Franklin[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Leo[/name]
[name]Milo[/name]
[name]Miles[/name]
[name]Maxwell[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Phineas[/name]
[name]Simon[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]

Some names I associate with a bit more Judaism (I apologize for repeats), but that still feel balanced:

[name]Abigail[/name] (popular, though)
[name]Eden[/name] (not my personal style, but I think it’s pretty)
[name]Eliana[/name]
[name]Raphaela[/name]
[name]Seraphina[/name]

Some more that I love but that feel less balanced in terms of Jewish/British:

[name]Shoshana[/name]
[name]Talia[/name]

Some more boys’ names that feel more Jewish than the others, but still balanced:

[name]Abraham[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]David[/name]
[name]Eli[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]Gideon[/name]
[name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Noah[/name] (popular, though)
[name]Samson[/name]
[name]Solomon[/name]
[name]Tobias[/name]

Good luck! :slight_smile:

5

Thank you so much for the great suggestions! It’s so fun to see what other people come up with. I especially love:

[name]Israel[/name] [name]Owen[/name]
[name]Rebekah[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] ([name]Rollo[/name], I switched your suggested first and middle names)
[name]Moses[/name] [name]William[/name]
[name]Israel[/name] [name]Edward[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]

and the new name suggestions:

[name]Samson[/name]
[name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Eleanora[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name] /[name]Dalia[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name] (I didn’t realize it was Hebrew either!)
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Vivian[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]

I realize upon re-reading my post that I wasn’t super clear about how I wanted to “balance” the names - [name]Jill[/name], thank you for all your thoughtful comments about striking a nice balance with classic names (which I love and always feel most drawn to). By balance, we are hoping to avoid something staunchly “Jewish” ([name]Solomon[/name] [name]Abraham[/name]) or staunchly “British” ([name]Henry[/name] [name]Charles[/name]) by picking one name from each background and blending the two, like the suggestions of [name]Miriam[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] or [name]Israel[/name] [name]Charles[/name]. Unfortunately, we have eliminated for assorted reasons, some great candidates:

[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Abraham[/name]
[name]Walter[/name] (which I dearly love)
[name]Abigail[/name]
[name]James[/name] (love)
[name]Solomon[/name]
[name]David[/name]
[name]Judah[/name]
[name]Reuben[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name] (sigh…)

With all that in mind, I’d still love to hear any additional suggestions. Thank you all again so much for your great ideas!

6

[name]Hi[/name], [name]Julia[/name]! (I love your name!) Thanks for explaining the whole balance issue: I’m with the program now. :slight_smile: I knew I was probably suffering from a case of the stupids, because I knew that you were aware that [name]Israel[/name] and [name]Moses[/name] were on the Jewish side of things, and I felt so confused. ([name]Just[/name] ignore then what I said about the names like [name]Israel[/name] and [name]Moses[/name]…) :slight_smile:

New ideas:

[name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name] [name]Lev[/name]
[name]Henry[/name] [name]Samuel[/name] (I love this!)

I thought I’d suggest:

[name]Simone[/name], [name]Maya[/name], [name]Shira[/name], [name]Naomi[/name], [name]Avital[/name], [name]Batya[/name], [name]Hadassah[/name], [name]Liora[/name], [name]Tirza[/name], [name]Tova[/name], and [name]Yasmin[/name].

[name]Hillel[/name], [name]Emanuel[/name] (I love [name]Edward[/name] [name]Emanuel[/name]), and [name]Raphael[/name] (I think this was suggested already).

Good luck! :slight_smile:

7

[name]Israel[/name]! What a great a name. I don’t know of one personally but know some one else who does. I just really like the way this name sounds.
[name]Samuel[/name] is great a name, I love it.

[name]Miriam[/name] with the nn [name]Miri[/name] is adorable.

8

[name]Julia[/name] it is a pleasure to help people name their children and I am delighted to find that you like two of my suggestions. I think [name]Rebekah[/name] [name]Blythe[/name] has a much better flow, great idea to switch the combo around.

9

Only because it has not yet been metioned, I feel compelled to add my own name to the list:

[name]Sarah[/name]

10

I think your best bet would actually be to choose a Jewish/Hebrew name that is widely used by Jewish and non-Jewish Brits alike.
I feel a lot of the names on the list are either TOO Jewish ([name]Israel[/name], [name]Moses[/name], [name]Lev[/name], [name]Aviva[/name], [name]Chava[/name]) or completely bereft of Jewish roots ([name]Arthur[/name], [name]Charles[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Blythe[/name], [name]Aurelia[/name], [name]Scarlet[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name]). Which I suppose is fine if you plan to do a Jewish fn and British mn, or vice versa.

But, if you were looking to combine in one name, then these do the trick:

[name]Moses[/name]- Nice
[name]Samuel[/name]- Prefer [name]Samson[/name]…
[name]Miriam[/name]- Cute! [name]LOVE[/name] nn [name]Miri[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name]- Too vowelly for me, but doable
[name]Esther[/name]- A bit dated [name]IMO[/name]

11

I was just talking to a friend the other day who had nearly this same dilemma when she and her husband were searching for a name for their now 10-year old daughter. The name they settled on was [name]Meredith[/name] [name]Katherine[/name].